Meat eaters in developed countries will have to eat a lot less meat,
cutting consumption by 50%, to avoid the worst consequences of future
climate change, new research warns.

The fertilisers used in farming are responsible for a significant share
of the warming that causes climate change.

A study published in Environmental Research Letters warns that drastic
changes in food production and at the dinner table are needed by 2050 in
order to prevent catastrophic global warming.

It's arguably the most difficult challenge in dealing with climate
change: how to reduce emissions from food production while still producing
enough to feed a global population projected to reach 9 billion by the
middle of this century.

The findings, by Eric Davidson, director of the Woods Hole Research
Centre in Massachusetts, say the developed world will have to cut fertiliser
use by 50% and persuade consumers in the developed world to stop eating so
much meat.

Davidson concedes it's a hard sell. Meat is a regular part of the diet in
the developed world. In developing economies, such as China and India, meat
consumption has risen along with prosperity.